Can You Feel It, Too?
by The Liquid Moon
Summary: [Takao x Kai] [Mentions of other gay pairs] Kai thinks that he knows his heart. Takao is… oh well, he has just too big a heart to know it half as well as any normal person might, right? Not to mention the dilemmas at being labelled gay...
1. Secrets

* * *

**Can You Feel It, Too?**

**Summary: **Takao x Kai Mentions of other gay pairs From fear of being labelled 'gay' to supernatural creatures intent on destroying their lives… life isn't all normal and happy for Kai and Takao. But it is only the difficulties which teach that when things are bleak, rely on your heart – and you will know what you ought to do.

* * *

**Disclaimers: **

I have no rights whatsoever to the copyrights of Beyblade/Beyblade V-Force/Beyblade G-Revolution. The characters recognized from the anime were created by Aoki Takao-san. No infringement is intended by this story.

* * *

**Can You Feel It, Too? **

* * *

**Chapter One**

**A World Centred Around You**

* * *

"Hiya, Kai!"

Kai groaned as Takao grinned widely at him.

"It's you again," he said, the exasperation and annoyance evident in his voice.

Takao nodded as he closed the door behind him. "How're you doing?"

"Just as I was an hour ago, Kinomiya. Honestly, if you were going to come back here, you shouldn't have asked me to take you to the dojo from school. You are so irritating."

"Hey, I had to get my homework done, right? I have a History test tomorrow," replied Takao, as he followed Kai into the kitchen. "Mmmm… lasagne! Wow! I didn't know you could cook Italian food. Mmmm… I might just move in here – ha, ha, ha… Oooh… isn't this the white wine from last week… ouch! Owww… Kai!"

"Don't touch anything! PUT DOWN THE CHEESE! How many times have I told you not to mess with the stuff in my kitchen?"

"Hey, I just wanted to taste that wine again."

"It is for the dinner," said Kai, as he adjusted the oven settings.

"Lasagne and wine? I'm staying for dinner!"

"No, you are going back before nine so that I don't have to drop you off."

"We can dine before nine."

"No."

"Awww… come on, Kai."

Kai took off his apron and the head band he used to push back his bangs while cooking. "No."

"Don't be harsh to the guy, Kai. The brat probably needs all the extra food to build up his muscles."

Takao was slightly startled as he hadn't noticed Yuriy in the sitting-room when he had followed Kai to the kitchen.

"Hey, Yuriy! When did you get here?"

"Well, as soon as I got to know about…"

"Shut up."

Kai picked up a couple of magazines from the coffee-table and went into his room. A moment later there was the unmistakable click of the door being locked.

Takao stared perplexedly at the closed door of his bedroom for a few moments before turning to Yuriy.

"What's up with him? What did _you_ get to know?"

Yuriy switched on the television and fixed his eyes on the screen. "I think you'd better ask him."

"Why? Is something wrong?"

"If he hasn't told you already, Takao… yes, it's best if he tells it to you himself."

"Tells me _what_?" demanded Takao, standing in front of the TV.

"Aren't you listening? Go and ask Kai. Stop bothering me."

Takao was torn between wringing the whole thing out of the redhead and barging into Kai's bedroom. He knew how Kai got when someone broke into his bedroom when the door was locked. _A locked door_, Kai had said, _strictly means don't you fucking disturb me._

"Would you mind moving, Takao?"

His mind made up, Takao complied and went towards Kai's bedroom. He chewed on his lower lip, wondering if he just won't make Kai madder by doing this… oh well… it could not be helped.

"Hey Kai!" he yelled as loud as he could (which wasn't a _very_ loveable decibel), "I want to talk to you!"

Knockknock_, knock, knock, knock, Bang, Bang. Bang, BANG, BANG, **BANG**…_

"CUT IT OUT ALREADY!"

_It wasn't a very good idea,_ thought Takao as Kai glowered down at him. It was times like these Takao really, really hated the fact that Kai had grown up to be a good four inches taller than him.

"Get lost, Kinomiya… it hasn't been the best day of my life and I don't need you pestering me on top of everything else."

"But, Kai…"

"_Takao_."

Takao clenched his fists as he looked up at the older guy. "I am worried, you know… about you. What's going on? Something's bothering you… and I… I can't see you troubled like this. Kai, I…"

His shoulders slumped in defeat but he kept gazing into Kai's crimson eyes. He wished he could tell Kai how much he meant to him, especially after Rei had moved back to China and Max had gone to America. Kai had remained behind in the Bay City. They attended the same high school. Kyouju and Hiromi were there, too, but ever since they had started dating, Takao had distanced himself from them because he had increasingly felt like a third wheel. Daichi was there but… while he was fun to hang out with he just wasn't the same as Kai, more so because Takao had to constantly look out for him. No one could be the same as Kai, though. No one… Kai had remained behind – with him. No, Kai had stayed behind _for_ him. Takao clearly remembered that evening…

_-_

"_I'll miss you guys so much!" said the Beyblade World Champion, hugging himself as he finally gave vent to his tears. "It's not fair… not fair… not fair…"_

_He sat leaning against a tree in the empty park, the darkness of the no moon night providing him with the required cover. _

_However, the one who had been looking for him found him easily enough. In Kai's opinion, Takao was very predictable. To save himself the embarrassment if someone walked into the room while he sat crying, he had come here, to the park – where not just Gramps, Daichi or Kai but _anyone _could notice him crying. Stupid, really. _

"_It wasn't supposed to be like this! I had never thought of it like this!"_

"_No?"_

_Startled out of his crying, Takao looked up. He was relieved to find that it was only Kai. Even now, when he was over sixteen, he felt no embarrassment in giving way to his emotions in front of Kai. Kai was comfortable… the guys would probably think he was bonkers for feeling like this… _Kai? Comfortable? _But there was no denying the fact that Takao felt that way. _

"_I thought… I thought that Bladebreakers would be together… I was so happy…"_

"_You know what your problem is?" asked Kai, sitting down near him. "You are always lost in your happy little world… so much so that you have grown pretty selfish."_

"_Selfish!" Takao's misery slowly melted into fury. "What do you mean 'selfish', you… you… you cold-hearted _oaf_!"_

_Kai rolled his eyes. _Trust the boy to insult like a nine-year-old_. "You always think that the world should go the way _you _want it to – no matter what others feel like," he said, leaning against the trunk of the tree and looking up at the starry sky. _

"_NO, I DON'T!"_

"_Then why are you crying?"_

_Takao glared at the indifferent visage of his training partner. Sometime later, he looked down, mumbling incoherently. _

"_What was that?" asked Kai, hints of a smirk playing around his thin lips. _

"_I said… sorry. Maybe you're right."_

_Kai turned and moved closer to Takao. However, the younger boy was so lost in guilt over the newfound revelation that he did not notice the somewhat uncharacteristic role of 'comforter' Kai was beginning to play._

_Not that it was easy for Kai. "It's okay, you know… to be selfish… to want things to be perfect… it's not your fault. But… but sometimes, you just have to let go – trust things to work out on their own…"_

"_I'm so selfish."_

"_Takao."_

"_I… I didn't mean to…"_

_Kai brought a glove-covered hand to rest on the nape of Takao's neck, gently pushing away the thick ponytail. The latter turned up weary brown eyes towards him. _

"_Forget it. I didn't mean it all _that _seriously. Just let go. It isn't as if you are _never _going to meet them again."_

_Takao gave him a weak smile. "You're right."_

"_Moreover…," Kai removed his hand and looked away. "It's not much but… _I'm _here… I'm going to buy my own apartment and… I'll… I'll be here…"_

_Tingly sparks went up his fingers and down his spine as Takao caught his hand in his own. "That's _a lot_, Kai. I can never thank you enough for being here with me. I just… didn't want to be separated from my friends so soon, you know."_

"_Hmm."_

"_And I think… and I think I could have gone on without anyone by my side, actually… except… well, if only you were there, you know… you are my important friend, Kai. I cannot tell you how much it means to me to have you here."_

_A slight pressure of hand was his only reply, but Takao was satisfied. He lay down with his head on Kai's lap. The 'ice prince' had grown surprisingly accepting of his little gestures. It was almost as if he relished them as much as Takao did. But Takao felt that it was only his imagination. Of course, he was Kai's best friend – or so he was determined to think – and after all that they had been through together, it was hard for Kai to remain cold towards him. Kai now let the seemingly perpetual ice around him thaw out little by little. Takao liked to think that he had a role in it._

"_What about everything back in Russia?"_

_Kai looked down at Takao's face. His eyes were closed and his face looked considerably calmer. Kai knew that he'd soon fall asleep. He hadn't slept well the past few days and had been competing to break Kai's record in grouchiness. _

"_I don't know, to be honest. But it can wait. I'd much prefer to remain here." Kai glanced at his palm for a moment before placing it on Takao's forehead. "For you."_

_A small smile was his only response and soon, as he had thought, Takao's light snores were the only sound to ward off the silence in the park._

-

"I'm sorry," said Takao.

"Doesn't matter," said Kai, running impatient fingers through his hair. "Let's eat."

"Hey, it's hardly seven-thirty. Don't you like dining real late?" asked Takao, glad that things were back to being comfortable between them.

"And then have you pester me to cook you lasagne tomorrow? No way!"

Takao grinned. "You're so mean!"

"Why do you have to leave at nine, anyway?" asked Yuriy, as he helped Takao lay the table. "I mean it's not as if you are a toddler now, are you? If he can allow you underage drinking…"

"And driving," put in Takao, immediately regretting it as Kai shot him a nasty glare.

Yuriy smiled and briefly glanced at Kai, raising a thin brow. "And driving… surely the guy must trust you to find your way home."

"The bus to his place leaves off at nine and the next one isn't until three hours later. I couldn't possibly suffer his presence until then."

"No?" said Takao, pretending to be deeply hurt and putting his hand on his chest, "And here I was thinking you loved me so much, oh-ever-so-generous-one."

Kai froze for only a moment before throwing the bunch of napkins at Takao's head, who was laughing. "You're impossible."

* * *

Yuriy had retired to the guestroom with a book as Takao said he'd help Kai with the dishes. Kai had built up an impressive collection of books and it now lined the major part of the sitting-room along with a large collection of CDs. Curiously enough, the continuous arrangement of the CDs broke in places for some peculiar oddity which was most unlike the suave ivory and peach of the room – like the glaring yellow and red vase of flowers (right now, the flowers were dry), a fuchsia teddy-bear photo frame with a picture of Bladebreakers planted in the heart-shaped stomach of the bear, something red and gold which could have been a bell, a fish or a panda and so on.

It was because some sections of the stack were almost always missing as Takao usually borrowed them – in the beginning, he used to ask Kai before touching any of them but a few weeks later, Kai's apartment had become his second home and irritated by the constant questions of "Can I borrow this? And what about this? And this? And this? And this?", Kai had told him to take whatever he wanted as long as he spared his ears – and yeah, returned it in a week. Once, when Kai had complained as to how Takao disrupted the symmetry of things, the latter had started spending all his pocket-money on getting curios to make it look 'symmetrical'. It hadn't helped at all – it had a rather contrary effect, actually – but Kai treasured them and although the décor was rather… unattractive, for Kai, it was simply beautiful.

"I almost forgot," said Takao, suddenly stopping in the middle of washing the dishes. Flinging off his wet gloves – Kai huffed in exasperation as he picked them up – Takao ran to the small room before the sitting room which had the shoe rack and stand for coats.

"Here," he said, as he returned, a tiny maroon box in his hand, "I got something for you."

"Thanks," replied Kai, "but next time, remember that you can wait until _after_ you finish doing the dishes to run off. You almost broke that dish and the floor is all wet now. The least…"

"Oh, Kai! Just open the box! Go on!" encouraged Takao eagerly, tapping the box which Kai now held in his hand.

"Wait a minute… I'll take off the gloves or I'll spoil whatever there is in it."

"You're taking so long!" said Takao impatiently, as he hastily wiped his moist hands on his jeans, took back the box and opened it.

"I thought I'd get something for the coffee table as I broke that statuette last week. But I saw this thing and since there was only one of it because its pair had been stolen, I got it at a lucky price. Go on… put it on."

Kai dried his hands and gently picked up the ear-stud – an intricately designed gold dragon in profile with the tiniest of rubies for its eye and a bit larger sapphire at the end of its tail. It was no larger than his thumb nail but the details were truly admirable.

"It's got red eyes so it reminded me of you… Plus, you've had that blue stud on for ages and I thought it would be a cool change… And if you miss the blue of your old one, then there's this sapphire… And the dragon looks as if it's breathing fire… And if you look from this angle, it could almost pass for Dragoon… I wondered if they had a phoenix but they didn't. But hey, this just shows team-spirit or something, right? And look… the tail…"

"Takao."

Kai caught Takao's hand which hovered over the ear-stud his palm.

"Thanks and yeah, I like it. And no, I don't mind that it is a dragon and not a phoenix – as if I'd ever! And even if it didn't pass for being Dragoon, I'd love it."

Takao smiled sheepishly. "I was just so worried you won't like it."

"You didn't have to be – you never have to be," said Kai, more to himself than Takao.

"Huh?"

"Never mind."

"Oh well. Here, let me get that for you."

Takao stepped closer to Kai and leaned over to unfasten the blue stud from his left ear. Kai closed his eyes, relishing the proximity. Takao's warm breath tickled his neck. He just had to turn a bit and bend his head a little and…

"Okay, give that to me now!"

Kai opened his eyes and gave the tiny Dragoon-look-alike (at least from one angle) to Takao. This time Takao moved to Kai's side to get a better view of his ear. His soft fingers impatiently pushed away the dual-coloured strands. Kai bit his lip as Takao missed aim while pushing the sharp needle of the stud and his ears stung with pain. It wasn't hard to resist his first impulse of hitting the careless boy as Takao's fingers touched his reddened skin soothingly.

"Oops… sorry there. But I've got it now. Ummm… yeah, is it okay?"

Kai tentatively touched his new jewellery, checking if it was properly fastened in place.

"You look better in this one!" declared Takao.

"It makes no difference," said Kai, turning back to his work.

"Yes, it does."

"My hair is falling over it, you idiot. It's probably invisible."

"It's shining," insisted Takao as he put on his gloves. "You're just being ungrateful and mean!"

"Hn. Just get on with the dishes, will you? And if you break any this time… God help you!"

* * *

Kai worked part-time at a restaurant (and so his improved culinary skills) and at the local library. Not that he really required all the money as he practically owned Bio-Volt and his 'allowance' had been enough to allow him to buy a car the day he turned eighteen. He'd been planning it for some time. Once he had the car, he regularly drove to the dojo early morning. Most days began with him pulling the late sleeper out of the futon and dragging him to Beyblade until it was time for breakfast. Then he drove both of them to school. He was one of the few twelfth graders who drove to school.

Takao had begged, pleaded, annoyed and generally pestered him until he taught him to drive. It was still a year and few months before Takao would be officially able to obtain a driving license. Kai, despite his continuous disapproving remarks when Takao sat behind the wheel, had found him to be a pretty good driver. A few times, he'd even let him drive in the city after making him swear on Dragoon and food that he would lay off his loudmouth tendencies so that he won't end up in jail.

"Thanks again for the dinner, Kai! It was really, really great!" yelled Takao as he put on his coat. Kai had gone to Yuriy's room and since it was just five minutes to nine, Takao decided he couldn't wait any longer.

He had opened the door and was about to go out when he heard Kai call out, "Takao! Wait!"

"Yeah?" he asked, adjusting his cap.

"You could come with me," said Kai, not meeting his eye. "I was going out anyway," he added, just a moment too late to not be a lie.

"You wanna talk?" asked Takao immediately. He'd learnt to read Kai better than most. He was sure that this was about… well, whatever he wasn't going to tell him before.

Kai put on his shades. "You forgot your gloves on the dining table. Make it quick."

-x-

Takao could never understand why Kai always wanted to drive with his shades on. Takao himself found shades pretty uncomfortable and most of the time he kept wondering if he was ever able to see anything on the road with those things on. Actually, it always made him nervous when he couldn't see Kai's eyes. Kai's body language was always so stiff, yelling 'keep-the-hell-away-from-me' that Takao could never tell what he was thinking or what sort of mood he was in unless he looked at him – into his eyes. Just one glance at those shiny crimson eyes was enough to reveal Kai to him. But with the shades on… It definitely put Takao at a disadvantage when he was with Kai and he didn't like it one bit. There had to be some sort of law against this!

Kai hadn't denied that he wanted to talk so he probably _did_ want to talk. But until now, he had shown no signs of exercising his vocal cords for even a sigh. Takao had waited for some time before turning on the CD player to break the tense silence. Kai never allowed rock songs while driving, claiming that they were way too distracting. And the slow melodies made Takao sleepy. He had almost fallen asleep against the window screen when the car came to a halt. He woke up instinctively and yawned widely.

"Home already?" he said, rubbing his eyes, and reflexively reaching out for his backpack. Those two words had almost become sine qua non before he got out. Kai rarely replied to his loud "Goodbye – see you soon!" But he did answer that question every late afternoon with a dry "Obviously". Takao took it as Kai's particular way of saying "Goodbye".

However, soon the darkness outside reminded him that he hadn't just returned from school.

Plus, the dojo was nowhere in sight.

Kai took off his shades and slid them on the button-lining of his half-unbuttoned shirt. Takao followed the movement and until Kai turned to get out of the car, his eyes were fixed on the tank-top he wore underneath. Since when did Kai start wearing _shiny_ tank-tops? No wonder he almost always wore long-sleeved shirts over them now. _Weird_, thought Takao, _how come I missed the glaze until now? I swear I've seen him wear that tank top before._

"So – up for a round of Beyblading, Kinomiya?"

Takao's hand closed around his Beyblade which was his constant companion residing in the pocket of his coat as he looked at the neon blue sign of "Beyblade Training Block 4" on the building which definitely had the 'newly-built' look about it.

He grinned. "Anytime. Anywhere."

-x-

Kai had led him in through an 'unofficial' entrance and straight into a training-room so that they were able to avoid the unnecessary bedlam their presence undoubtedly caused among Bladers. He informed Takao that he came down here once a while to practice alone. He'd grown pretty bored and decided to introduce Takao to his 'secret hideout'. Takao was ecstatic.

However, all his joyful thoughts dissipated once the match grew intense.

_Kai's never this good in the morning… must be something to do with the fact that it's _his _haunt, _he thought as he summoned his bit-beast. He had never done that so fast into a match in a long time.

_Has Dranzer grown extra powerful?_ He thought confusedly as his blade was almost thrown out of the dish. _Focus, Takao!_

Kai was merciless. Takao had been concentrating _only and only _on his defence for two full minutes now. And Dranzer was just becoming faster and more unpredictable. _When did Kai learn all these new moves? Why didn't he play like this in the morning today?_

"Focus, Kinomiya!" he heard his former captain yell from the other side. "Come on! You can give me a better fight than this!"

For once, Takao had nothing to say. Dragoon wobbled dangerously on the edge of the dish before quickly managing to snatch its survival. But it wasn't for long as Dranzer clashed into it with frenzying intensity and Takao could only watch in desperation as his blade flew clearly out of the dish and rolled to stop just a yard away from him.

Takao didn't go to pick it up immediately. He was only staring at it with unseeing eyes, confused… angry… Only he didn't know whether he was angry at himself or Kai. Kai had obviously been doing some major secret training and had not even let on the fact. In fact, hadn't Takao defeated him thrice earlier today? He couldn't possibly have learnt new techniques in such a short space of time. Hell! Takao had been with him for almost the whole day and he knew that Kai hadn't touched his blade until now.

"You weren't any fun, Kinomiya."

Kai's voice snapped him out of his stupor. He went over to retrieve his blade.

"Let's try again. Re-match, okay?"

"Why?" Fury was boldly imprinted all over Takao's face. "So that you can show me again how crappy I've gotten at it?"

"You haven't gotten _crappy_, Takao. I've improved."

"Yeah, well. It's the same thing, right?"

Kai didn't say anything as Takao snatched up his coat and walked out of the room. He leaned lazily against the wall, a small smile gracing his face. He liked knowing Takao so well. It was just a matter of seconds before…

Takao was back.

Not quite meeting his eyes, Takao threw back his coat and picked up the ripcord and the launcher.

"So… re-match, huh?"

"That's what I remember saying," said Kai patronizingly, pushing away from the wall.

Takao raised his eyes, apologetic but determined. "Well, captain, bring it on!"

* * *

Takao went round to Kai's side of the dish and pushing away Kai's coat and bag, dropped on the bench beside him.

"So you gonna spill your secrets, buddy?"

Kai leaned over to get his bag and pulled out two cans. After handing the soft drink to Takao, he opened his can of beer.

"It's a pretty long story."

"Then it's probably something you should've told me before."

Kai leaned forward and rolled the red can between his hands. "I don't know. I did try to."

"Start with Beyblade," put in Takao. "Why didn't you let on that you knew so many cool moves? I was almost growing bored… without learning anything very new and all the while… you were hiding this stuff!"

"I was still working on perfecting them. I wanted things to be perfect before I showed it to you."

Takao emptied almost half his can in a single gulp. "You're way too good at keeping secrets, Kai. But I'm not angry, not now, I mean. I just want to learn it all. It's going to be fun, yeah!"

Kai was silent. Takao was about to start questioning him again when the door (through which they hadn't entered for it faced the corridor) opened and a girl came in.

"Konban wa, Hiwatari-kun, I got some… oh… ummm… Hello?"

Kai stood up and smiled at the newcomer. "Urumi-chan."

Takao, who was searching Kai's bag for another drink (_maybe he's got some chocolate, too… ha! I know you love chocolate, Kai) _looked up. _Urumi-_chan_? Was she Kai's secret girlfriend? He won't be surprised… But he'd surely punch Kai once they were alone. Best friends weren't supposed to keep secrets like _that _from each other…_

"I thought I'd practice with my friend today… Kinomiya Takao…"

"Ah! It's so nice to finally meet you, Kinomiya-san. I'm a great fan of yours," said the green-headed girl.

Takao blinked. "Eh… thanks… and you can call me Takao…"

Urumi turned to Kai. "I just came to inform you that Ogata-san would like to talk to you about the new training centre equipment plans. Yuriy-san was here earlier… in fact, he came down here as soon as he got to Bay City."

"He told me." Kai put down his beer. "I'll be back in a moment, Takao."

_What new training centre equipment plans? Why was Kai discussing plans with people?_

"Ano… Takao-san?"

The girl held a clipboard in her hand. She pulled out a blank sheet and blushing a little, turned it towards Takao along with a pen. "Can I please have your autograph?"

"Sure," said Takao, always happy to 'oblige' his fans. Moreover, he was beginning to think that she wasn't Kai's secret girlfriend. Maybe she knew that he came down here secretly to practice… after all, by the looks of that suit-dress, she did seem to secretary or something. She probably was.

"Doomo arigatoo gozaimasu!" said the girl, her eyes almost glowing with delight.

"No problem," said Takao, beginning to feel a bit awkward. Changing the topic, he asked, "Kai comes here often?"

"Oh yes, Hiwatari-kun is here almost every night. You see, we keep this block open up until midnight and he is always one of the last ones to leave." She seemed hesitant for a moment, but then added, "He's a very skilled blader, isn't he?"

"Sure thing! You've seen him blade here, right?"

Urumi nodded. "Yes… he even taught me a few things. I usually get off duty about half an hour before we close and I usually get him some beer because he finishes up all his cans by then. He told me he was developing some new techniques."

Takao's hands fisted in his pockets. Kai taught this _stranger_ the new moves before he even told him about them? It wasn't _fair_!

However, curbing the bout of jealousy, he asked, "So… you blade often?"

Urumi nodded. "I would have tried for some tournaments but my father was insistent on proper education. But I never gave up on Beyblading. I… I used to watch your games over and over again to improve myself," she said, her cheeks tingeing with red again. "And I think it is going to pay off," she continued brightly. "I am going to try for Trainer's position in Hiwatari-kun's training centre. I know it is way up there in Russia, but I love Beyblading more than anything else. I really do! And I know that this will be my only chance to combine my two loves of Beyblading and teaching."

"Kai's training centre? Russia?" asked Takao feebly.

Urumi's brows drew together. "You mean he didn't tell you about it?" She was thoughtful for a moment. "Oh! He must have meant it to be a surprise! Oh kami-sama! I spoiled it!" She raised her troubled blue eyes to his. "Don't tell him I spoiled it, please?"

Takao shook his head. "I won't, I swear. I will let it be our little secret, okay?"

Urumi's grateful smile was dazzling. "Hai… arigatoo, Takao-san."

"'Takao' is fine," he repeated absently.

_Kai will have a training centre in Russia. Kai needs to go _back _to Russia in order to take care of his training-centre. Kai needs to _leave _Bay City to be able to go to Russia. Kai needs to leave _me_. Kai… Kai is going away…_

"Ano… I'll get going," he said, feeling that he couldn't face Kai right now. And the older boy would be back any time now.

"Oh, okay. Good-night (1), Takao-san!"

"Good-night (1)!"

* * *

"Hello?"

"Kai?"

"No, it's Yuriy."

"Hey, YURIY! It's Daichi! When did you get here? And say… okay, okay, I'm asking… no, _I'll_ ask… Is Kai there?"

"No."

"Is Takao there?"

"No."

"He says he isn't there, Gramps. Hey, Yuriy can ya come over… NOOOOOO! GIVE ME THE PHONE! GIMMME! Takao isn't home yet and Gramps is going bonkers… Itetetetetete! Stupid kendo man! Don't you hit me with that! Itetetetetetetetetetetetete!"

"Takao's with Kai. I think they must have gone Beyblading or something."

"He's saying Takao's Beyblading with Kai… REALLY, I AM NOT LYING!... So when are ya coming over, Yuriy?"

"I'm here for some important work – and I've only got one more day – so I am not sure… but…"

"Tomorrow, right? See ya tomorrow, Yuriy!"

"Eh… Daichi…"

"Tell Takao that Gramps says he's gotta get his ass here in an hour… that'll be by two, right? Yeah… So… you got me something, Yuriy?... Okay… okay… I'm cutting off. Bye, Yuriy!"

"Bye…"

"See ya tomorrow!"

* * *

**Author's Notes: **

1) "Good-night" in Japanese would be "Oyasumi nasai". However, is it used only before going to bed or would "Oyasumi nasai" be applicable in this context, too?

According to what I checked up at Kai is, by canon, younger than Takao. However, I've overlooked this fact for this story, so I apologize for that. For most part, Kai acts so much more mature than Takao that it wasn't hard to do that at all.

* * *


	2. Broken Promises

* * *

**Chapter 2**

**Broken Promises**

* * *

… "_What about everything back in Russia?" …_

… "_I don't know, to be honest. But it can wait. I'd much prefer to remain here. For you." …_

Takao searched the bag for the car key. The key had three duplicates and one of them was always stashed away in the secret Velcro slits at the bottom of Kai's purple shoulder bag, which he carried to school and work. Kai had been gone for almost half an hour. Assuming that he was to be gone for long, Takao decided he'd wait for him in the car. At least the car had radio and CD player. Although he had been trying out counter-moves for the ones Kai had shown him earlier, he found that he just couldn't concentrate enough.

_I don't want to believe that you are going away but I won't hold you back. I know why you are going away – not because you want to leave me, but because you want something else _more _than staying behind for me… You must really, really want it then, ne? And I am not selfish now… I won't be a baby and throw a tantrum so that you stay. I won't be the one who upset all your plans. I won't make you do anything you don't want to. _

There had been three keys. He recognized one of them as Kai's apartment key – he himself had one of it. The second was too small to be the car key. He wondered what it was for. Once he had opened the lock, he was about to move round to the passenger-seat side of the car, when he stopped on an impulse and sat down on the driver's seat. He had a sudden urge to drive the car. But he'd rather not risk it without Kai. He'd ask Kai if he could drive to the dojo.

_I won't ask you to stay. I won't be selfish. I won't!_

The music wasn't as soothing as he had thought it would be. Takao leaned back in the seat and staring at the crystal Beyblade fixed to a support on the dashboard.

_It hurts me so much to know that you will be going away. But I won't let you know it. I won't… I won't cry when you are going. I won't cling to you at the airport. I won't cry when you are gone. I won't call you eight times a day. I won't write to you every day. When we do talk on phone sometimes, I will sound happy. I won't let you know how much I miss you._

_I don't know how these days are going to pass. I don't know how I am supposed to look at you now and pretend that I know nothing. I don't know how, but I will try my best… Kami-sama, was it only yesterday that we were sitting in the ice-cream parlour? And you told me I was a pig for ordering five sundaes… and I knew you didn't mean it when you paid for the last two because I'd spent the rest of what money I had already. _

Takao ran his hand over the steering wheel. The novelty of driving hadn't worn off for him. It still made his heart beat a bit faster when he sat behind the wheel – to think that he had complete control over the machine. Kai's car was the only one he had ever driven, but even so he knew that it was a really good one with an engine which could easily be any driver's envy and all machinery at its best. It was one of the things Kai treasured, after all. Whenever he drove it, it felt as if his instincts took over and knew just the right time for the right action – he had hitherto never even pressed down on a brake too soon.

Hiromi had rolled her eyes at his fascination with it (after yelling herself hoarse about 'underage driving'). Takao had simply shrugged. He knew if he told her that driving sent the same excitement through him as Beyblading did, Hiromi might understand it more. But Takao felt somewhat embarrassed saying that – especially when Kai had scowled at the girl and said, "Why the hell are you making such a noise? _It's just a bloody car!_"

Takao supposed it was stupid to dream of being an F1 racer just after his third drive round the city. But it was such an exciting thought…

_Just a drive around a few blocks…_ Takao fingered the key in the ignition. _It would be just a few minutes… a few minutes won't matter… Nothing could possibly go _wrong.

* * *

He had begun with hating Kai for being better than him. He had envied him with a ferocious intensity. Maybe it was true… what they said about there being only a very thin line between love and hate… Because now he loved him so much… almost to a fault.

Yuriy glanced at the clock for the umpteenth time since Daichi had called. Kai wasn't back yet. Kai had told him that he would take Takao Beyblading and then tell him about his plans of moving to Russia. Beyblade was the way to Takao's heart. All in all, it won't take so long… no, Kai ought to have returned by now.

He would try to catch him on his cell – although Kai did have the most annoying habit of keeping it off when it was required to talk to him the most. Perhaps just this one time…

Yuriy banged down the receiver. _Of course_ he had turned it off. He was with _Takao_.

Kai probably thought that no one noticed. He went about thinking that he was doing a pretty good job of hiding it just because Takao was too thick-headed and… _juvenile_ to _notice_. No emotion but love was so easily recognizable – even if it happened to be someone like Kai.

Sometimes, Yuriy wondered if it had been something like love at first sight for Kai. Granted that both, Kai and Takao, had just been kids when they had first met but Yuriy was bound to believe that they had formed some sort of bond the first time they had met. Kai had told him his history with the Bladebreakers. He had joined them despite the fact that he had wanted to be a lone champion. Kai still believed that at the time when he had agreed to be the captain of the Bladebreakers, it was just for his own advantage. After thinking over it, Yuriy knew better. Even all that time ago, he had done it for Takao. Once he had met Takao, Kai was not about to let him go – whether it had been a conscious or subconscious decision was an insignificant matter.

Yuriy hadn't been able to kill the green-eyed monster of jealousy that was eerily his constant companion. Only now it wasn't directed against Kai Hiwatari at all. Yuriy envied the close and easy friendship Takao shared with Kai. Though, over the time, he had come to accept the fact that Takao would always be the most important person in Kai's life, he knew that he could never fully accept that fact – never. Then again, his own relationship with Kai had grown stronger now and he didn't want to spoil it. He cared for Kai more than anything or anyone else in the world. And if Kai didn't care for him to the same extent… he could comfort himself with the fact that he cared for him more than it had seemed possible at one point.

Sighing, he brought a shaky hand to his forehead. What with travelling and reviewing the training centre plans, he had been unable to sleep properly in the past few days and his head was aching terribly. But he wasn't going to bed just yet. After all, there he'd just toss and turn uneasily, and in his half-asleep-half-awake state, he would merely let useless awful thoughts fill his mind.

He checked to see if the receiver was properly placed over the phone and went to stand near the window overlooking the road.

_Is he really worth all this trouble, Kai?_

* * *

Without even glancing at the folder Ogata-san had handed him and after bidding the grey-haired man a hasty 'good-night', Kai sprinted down the corridors to the training-room. The meeting had gone on way longer than he had expected. But it seemed that Takao had already gone out.

_He was probably sleepy, _thought Kai, glancing at his watch. _It's pretty late._

However, when he got to the parking lot, he could neither locate his friend nor his car. Where the hell was Takao? He couldn't possibly have decided to drive to the dojo by himself… he won't be that stupid, would he?

_No, he won't – it's not like Takao to pull a prank of that sort… It is too ridiculous and too idiotic – even for Takao. Why would he do something like that, anyway?_

"Any problem, Hiwatari-kun?"

"Urumi-chan… did Takao leave behind any message for me?"

"He didn't say anything to me," replied Urumi. "Why? What's the matter? Is something wrong?"

Kai glanced at the vacant space in the parking-lot where his car had stood before.

"Er… he seems to be missing."

"Missing?"

"He seems to have taken off with my car." _Stupid Takao!_

"Taken off? Takao-san can drive? I had thought…"

"That's not the problem right now," said Kai edgily. "Oh, well, good-night, Urumi-chan. I'll call him on his cell."

Kai searched his pocket for change as he moved towards the call-box. This day wasn't going to get better, was it?

"Pick up the damned phone already!" Kai ran an impatient finger between the first and second row of numbers. "What are you doing?"

As the regular rings broke off, he swore and pressed redial.

He could see Urumi-chan still standing where he had left her, her eyes fixed in his direction. She was probably waiting for him. He just hoped that he wouldn't require her help.

Five unsuccessful attempts later, he gave up and banged down the receiver in exasperation. Fishing his coat pocket for his cigarette-pack and lighter, he was about to step out of the call-box when the phone rang. He hesitated for only a moment before answering.

"Takao? Where the fuck are you? Do you know…?"

"I am speaking from the police-station, sir," a slightly raised voice interrupted. "Are you a friend of Kinomiya-san's?"

_Police?_

"Hai… I am Kai Hiwatari."

"There's been an accident…"

Kai felt a cold wave of fear and panic engulf him as the policeman's voice droned the details in his ear.

* * *

"The car…"

"It's mine."

"We found no driving license for Kinomiya-san – nor any record of it. He is still not of a legal age to drive."

Kai could only nod, curbing his desire to throttle the policeman who was keeping him from being by Takao's side.

"Look here," he said, before the other could say another word. "I need to go. Takao needs me right now. This isn't the time for this… I will come by tomorrow or something. But right now, for God's sake, just let me go!"

"Hiwatari-san…"

"I beg you," said Kai helplessly, standing up, "Please, let me go – for a few hours… I'll come back in the morning. Can't you just spare me a few hours… Takao… I need to be there. I'll go mad if I sit here pretending nothing's happened! THAT HE MIGHT NOT BE DYING THERE!"

"Kinomiya-san's injuries were not critical. The doctor…"

"Just let me go…"

The desperation emanating off the Beyblader seeped through the policeman's firm demeanour. He looked uncertain but relented. "Okay, however…"

But Kai had already dashed off his mind focussed only on getting to Takao.

His fears concerning Takao had about numbed his rational thought. Ignoring the nurses' protests to not run in the hospital, he raced through the corridors and stairs prompted by his hasty restlessness which would have made it impossible for him to wait for the elevator.

_Please be okay… I'll die if something happens to you… Takao… Takao…_

_240… 246… 248… Kinomiya Takao… Oh God! Oh God!_

* * *

"I'd like a hamburger if you don't mind!"

_I'm really hungry – why isn't anybody getting that? The nurse is cute but stupid. I don't understand why Max seems to have a thing for nurses… it is creepy!_

"It would be better if you let your stomach rest for a day, Kinomiya-san… the anaesthesia and medication is…"

"Please, please, please? I am really hungry!"

"Kinomiya-san…"

However, their hopeless conversation was interrupted as the door burst open to admit dishevelled and frenzied-looking Kai. Takao was shocked – he had never seen Kai so flustered in his life.

"YOU FOOL!" Kai's breath came in short gasps. "WHAT… WERE… YOU… THINKING?"

The playful smile disappeared from Takao's Band-Aided face as Kai advanced towards him.

"It is past visitor's time…"

The nurse made a futile attempt to stop Kai but the latter ignored her completely – after glaring threateningly at her.

"Hey, Kai… I am… okay… bit of luck, huh?" Takao weakly attempted to laugh.

Kai stood at the foot of Takao's bed, gazing dazedly at him. _He's okay… _

"About the car… ano… ore… gomen nasai… I'll try to…"

The older boy blinked out of his semi-stupor and went round to where Takao sat leaning against a cushion of pillows. He stared at him for a few moments, before reaching out a trembling hand to lightly cup his face.

"You're okay."

Takao said nothing. He didn't even nod. All his senses were concentrated on the cold hand covering his cheek and jaw. He looked into Kai's crimson eyes. He had never seen such strong emotion in them… Kai wasn't angry… he was worried… terribly worried…

"Gomen nasai! Gomen nasai, Kai!" said Takao, averting his eyes as he felt tears well up in them. "I…"

But he couldn't finish his sentence as Kai had suddenly bent down and wrapped his arms around him.

"I was so worried."

Takao brought his free arm around Kai's waist, resting his head on his shoulder. He couldn't stop his tears from falling… in the space of the last couple of hours, he had lost the two dearest to him… There was no use putting off the truth any longer… He had thought that he could avoid it till he stayed in the hospital. But they had somehow contacted Kai… and with Kai, it was difficult to avoid the truth.

"I lost Dragoon."

He felt Kai stiffen and try to pull back but he held onto him as if for his life. He turned his face, pressing his eyes against Kai's neck, willing the tears to stop.

"I lost Dragoon," he repeated, the reality of the fact still deadening him with pain. "I lost Dragoon."

"Takao…"

"And now I'll lose you… I cannot bear so much loss… I am not that strong, Kai… I promised myself I won't say this… but I can't… I can't stop myself… I lost Dragoon… I… Kai… don't leave…"

"Takao."

Kai sat down on the bed, pulling the sobbing boy close to him.

"I won't leave," whispered Kai, the hoarseness of his voice muffled by the midnight blue hair, "I'll do anything for you – I'll always be there for you."

* * *

"Hospital? Are you all right Kai? What happened?"

"I'm fine. Takao's accident is a long story. Just inform Gramps, will you? I just don't feel like telling him… it's all my fault… I don't know how I can face him…"

"Brace up, Kai – nothing is your fault. It was Takao who went off like that, wasn't it? Is he okay now?"

"Yeah… they'll leave him in a fortnight though… broke a few bones or ligament or something… But he's yelling for food again, so…"

"Kai, you don't sound like yourself. What's really wrong?"

There was a pause.

"He said he lost Dragoon."

"Lost Dragoon? What do you mean?"

"I haven't asked him… he is pretending that he didn't tell me that last night… the police thinks something's fishy… the damage to the car was far more compared to Takao's injury… that man said that he's never seen the driver so relatively unharmed compared to the condition of the car… Takao says he doesn't know what they are talking about… I know he is pretending… But I don't know what to do… Yuriy…"

"Just stay there – I'll be there in an hour, okay? I'll get Gramps and Daichi – they must be out of their mind with worry. Anyway, stay with him, okay? You will be better if you stay with him."

"I know… but get here soon… there's so much work…"

"Forget the work, Kai. You sound terrible. Just take care of yourself. Leave everything to me."

"Hai… Arigatoo, Yuriy."

"Take care of yourself, Kai."

* * *

"TAKAO!"

Kai, who had dozed off in his chair, jolted awake as the loud voice assaulted his ears. Before he could properly register everything around him, a blur of red whizzed past him and jumped onto Takao's bed.

"Nee! What happened? Are you in a lot of pain? Your arm is a real mess! Did you break your leg, too?"

"I WILL IF YOU DON'T CLIMB OFF IT! GET OFF ME, MONKEY!"

"Hey! No need to get rude! I was just worried!"

"_Yeah, right_! NOW GET OFF MY LEG!"

"Gramps and I got you some breakfast! Can I share?"

Takao threw Daichi a dirty look – and then one at the nurse who was tending to the other patient in the room.

"Why aren't you eating? Can I have it all then?"

"Take the food and get lost, you little pest!" growled Kai, pulling Daichi off Takao and putting in just some extra energy while pushing him to the floor.

"Nobody asked you, meanie!" yelled Daichi, sticking out his tongue.

"Little dude!"

"Takao!"

Kai stepped back as Gramps and then Kyouju and Hiromi fussed over Takao.

He turned as he felt a warm hand on his shoulder. "You could use some rest."

"I'm fine," mumbled Kai. But a yawn at the wrong moment betrayed his real state.

Yuriy smiled. "Still – some rest is always good."

Kai glanced at Takao who was fighting over food (which he was not supposed to eat) with Daichi. Kyouju was fruitlessly trying to dissuade him from gulping it down ("Anaesthesia! Aren't you feeling the effects of anaesthesia? Don't eat that!").

"Kai."

"I think he knows… that I am leaving. I don't know how, but he does."

"Have you eaten anything?"

"I don't…"

"Hospital cafeterias aren't the ideal restaurants but it will do for now… Come on, Kai! You are a worse mess than Kinomiya right now!"

* * *

It was a few minutes past eight and the cafeteria was, thankfully, relatively empty.

"Eat a little, at least. You look like you could use some energy," said Yuriy, pushing the rice omelette towards Kai. "Just drinking the coffee will make you feel worse."

"Stop mothering me," muttered Kai, but picked up his fork.

"Takao isn't here… so someone else has to." He tried to avoid the bitterness but it was getting increasingly difficult to do so. Seeing Kai in this state and the lack of sleep was making things worse.

Kai glanced up at him but said nothing.

"So start at the beginning… I guess you weren't able to tell him why you are leaving."

"No. But he got to know somehow."

"What did you say then?"

"Huh?"

"When he told you that he knew about it – what did you say?"

Kai's mind was cast back to the previous night when he had held Takao in his arms until he fell asleep. It pained him that Takao had been crying when he had first held him… like that. But that meant Takao needed him, didn't he? It was a bittersweet realization… He wanted Takao to need him forever but in that case, he would have to push away everything else… which wasn't possible – or very practical, either. It was so frustrating! Why couldn't he fulfil his dreams _and_ have Takao?

"I didn't have to say anything."

"Kai?"

"It's Dragoon, I am worried about," said Kai, determined to abandon the previous topic – it was nothing but pure pain. "Takao just said that he lost it. But he hadn't said a word about it since he woke up. They got someone else in the other bed early morning and I didn't have a chance to talk to him about anything."

Yuriy downed the last of his tea.

"Rest for a while. You can come back in the afternoon. I am not sure that Daichi and company will be leaving soon. Moreover, I won't advice you to talk to Takao with red eyes. Although if you are trying to scare him into talking or something…"

Kai stared blankly at Yuriy. "What do you mean 'red eyes'? My eyes have always been red."

"It's fine as long as you have red iris – you are positively creepy with red cornea."

Kai got up and stretched his tense arms. "Shut up!"

* * *

Even his apartment somehow felt different. It seemed ages since he had last been here. So much had happened in such a short space of time… He had known that today would be different as Takao would know that he was leaving as soon as he graduated – but that was all he had assumed. He wasn't sure what all had gone on since they left this place last night.

What worried him even more was Takao's unwillingness to tell him anything. It wasn't like Takao to keep anything bottled up inside him – not from him, Kai, at least. It was certainly suspicious. He had seen the damage done to his car – it was irreparable. But Takao only sported a broken arm, a twisted ligament and some bruises. How could that be? He was very glad that Takao was safe but at the same time the officer's words echoed in his head… "There's more to this _accident_ than meets the eye…" The detective-inspector who had come along early in the morning seemed keenly interested in the case. Wasn't it an accident?

The bath was filled with hot water but as Kai turned off the faucet, his inclination to get into the bath lessened. He was feeling just too tired to get in there. He would probably fall asleep, breathe in water and die in there. Abandoning the bath, he dragged his feet to his bed and still in his dressing-gown flopped down on the bed. The bath could wait. He had never felt so drained in his life.

He tried to cut off the bright sun rays by burying his face in the pillows, but feeling suffocated, he decided to make an effort to bring up the covers over his face and turned over to his left.

Takao… what was going on with that guy? He was always so troublesome… Kai spent more than half his energy looking out for him everyday. It wasn't a bad thing, really. Kai won't do it if he _really_ found it aggravating. But a break once a while would be good. A break from caring for Takao… he would have laughed if laughing didn't require so much energy, which he happened to be lacking now. It was like taking a break from breathing or something… Takao was just so important… too important… Stupid Takao… at least he had good luck… With Kai's luck, he'd probably have been crushed and burnt to death if he had been in the car…

_Holy shit!_

One would doubt Kai's previous case of extreme exhaustion if they saw the speed with which he suddenly sat up.

"Takao… Takao wasn't _in_ the car when he got hurt… something else did that to the car… _something_ _else_…"

Feeling his body protest the sudden movement, he sighed and lay down again.

_Things can wait for a little bit… I am dying here…_

* * *

It was late in the afternoon when Kai went back to the hospital. The sleep had restored his energy and his brain had been working overtime. He had had queer dreams of Dragoon crashing his car and Takao yelling and falling off some random cliff. It was probably the hospital food. He was damned if he was ever eating food from any hospital again.

The hospital, though, looked wholly different in daytime. He wondered if there were more patients or doctors during the day. It was busier than a new shopping complex.

He took his time walking to Takao's room this time. He knew he would have to _force_ everything out of Takao. He had never done that before. But every new experience with Takao was bound to be amusing. Takao couldn't hide things from him for long, anyway. However, as he seemed so determined this time, Kai was up to the challenge. He had the added advantage of being freshly out of an hour-long bath and eating chocolate ice-cream at lunch.

Kai stood still with shock as he looked up from the stairs to the corridor where Takao's room was.

"_Kami-sama!"_

* * *

**Author's Notes: **Thank-you for the information about Kai and Takao's relative ages and to all who reviewed the story.

* * *


	3. A Brewing Storm

* * *

**Can You Feel It, Too?**

**Chapter 3**

**A Brewing Storm**

* * *

_So many people!_

He was accustomed to crowds. They had been an integral part of every game. There had always been crowds – yelling, cheering, booing… whatever they did, they were always there, a white noise to his mind as he played a match.

Yet, as he stood at the top of the stairs, staring at the corridor, Kai Hiwatari absently thought that he had never seen so many people at one place in his life.

Before he could register anything properly, slim fingers caught his arms, tugging him to move in the opposite direction.

"Hiromi?"

"Come on, Kai! Or do you want to be bogged down by the reporters? You should have known that there would be reporters here – why did you come?" hissed Hiromi, who seemed to be in one of her exceptionally bad tempers.

Kai nodded, although he didn't quite get her meaning, and followed her downstairs. She took a detour through the next floor and they came to a less crowded part of the hospital. Technically, it wasn't 'less' crowded for a normal day, but one certainly need not fear death by a stampede here.

"Where did you park that rental car?"

"The parking lot in front… what's going on? Why were all those people there, Hiromi?"

"Like you don't know! Just shut up, right now, Kai! There's a car parked this side, which we can use, so come with me. If they see you here, now… God knows what's going to happen! Just come with me!"

Kai decided to trust Hiromi on this one – she seemed to know more about what was going on, anyway.

* * *

She knew that he didn't think about her that way. She sensed that he had always loved someone else but she could never guess _who_. She doubted if he even thought about her as a 'girl'. She fought with him, yelled at him, had fun with him and was always there for him. More than once she had tried to confess his feelings to him… but… something had stopped her. Maybe it was her women's intuition. She sensed that he was in love – and that he was not in love with _her_, she knew equally well.

She had never tried to find out who it was that he did love. As long as her mysterious rival was anonymous, she could always hope to win his love. He already thought of her as one of her close friends after all. Love was only a step away, wasn't it?

But now… now, this person, sitting in her car, beside her, had shattered all her hopes.

Kai Hiwatari was the person Takao Kinomiya loved. Kai Hiwatari…

_Why him, Takao?_

* * *

"So, what's going on?"

"Why do you keep asking me that when you can probably guess what's going on?"

"Hiromi, I am not stupid. Obviously, if I am asking you, it means that I don't know anything about it."

Kai was startled by the ice in her voice. Tachibana Hiromi in all her anger did not scare him even a bit. However, it wasn't her usual volatile-mood sort of anger which couldn't have bothered him if his life depended on it. No, it was the bitter hate that spewed forth that shocked him. Maybe he had grown too used to their… friendship?

Kai pressed down the accelerator.

"Its better you get away from this place – you never know who's watching you. Do you want to go to your apartment? Yuriy warded off all the reporters who were gathering in front of your place earlier. That man can get very intimidating when he wants, can't he? Anyway, at least you won't be troubled."

"Hiromi."

"What?" she yelled out suddenly. "What do you want to know? That everyone knows about your _secret_ relationship now? That you are in news? Obviously, if you had to kiss him, then you could have done it some place else, you know – if you didn't _want_ to be bothered. If you were risking kissing him in a public place, then obviously, you must have expected to make open your relationship."

She stopped for a moment to gather her breath.

"What are you talking about?"

Kai's mouth was forming its own words. His mind was working in quite another way… he had a horrible feeling that he knew the answer to his own question.

"It was all over in midday news on that channel. _Pictures_ _of you kissing him_…"

Kai had never heard Hiromi sound so bitter and full of… _hate_? While the opinion of others had hardly ever bothered him, that certainly didn't seem to be the case now… he couldn't tell why but he felt numbed by her cold behaviour. He had never seen Hiromi this way – she was one of the kindest persons around him, even he realized that. It seemed surreal that she should behave that way to him.

He had almost forgotten that people – people who love and care for you – such people could turn their back on you. He had lived too long among people who constantly cared for him. He couldn't name one person around him at this point as his _archenemy_… things had so changed since… since… since everything that his memory had decided to lock up in the darkest, least opened recesses of his mind. He had forgotten that people could hate.

He was always silent and generally morose – putting on the appearance of not giving a damn for anyone… except Takao, maybe. He had begun this way because he was scared of losing love again. He was scared of being hurt. Hence, he had decided that the easiest way around it was to hurt others even before they hurt you.

So people had mostly stayed away from him… but these people… these people who hadn't left him alone, who cared for him with admirable persistence… Kai Hiwatari could honestly admit (at least to himself) that he had come to care for them, too.

And now?

Would they hate him if they knew that he loved Takao – another _guy_? It had irked him when he had heard 'homo-jokes'. He wasn't a supporter of homosexuality, per se. He just… loved Takao. It was as natural for him as breathing – or just existing. He never stopped to wonder _why_ he loved Takao – if that was because he was a homosexual. There were women who he thought were beautiful. There were men who he thought looked attractive. But only Takao had inspired any sort of sexual desire in him. That indefinable feeling welled up in him only when he thought of Takao. There was… no _reason_ for it. Takao had probably been the first person who had broken through his cold shell but Kai knew that was not reason why Kai loved him. In his opinion, if Takao hadn't been the first person to do so, he would have loved him still.

Defining love was impossibility. Defining Kai Hiwatari's love for Kinomiya Takao was even greater than this impossibility.

He didn't understand why people would hate him for loving Takao. It was as if they hated him for existing. All he recognized now was that people hated him. He knew that… For starters, he had never expected that even if she knew about his feelings towards Takao, Hiromi would…

_Why the hell am I thinking this way? I don't care… I don't care… I don't care what this girl thinks about me… I don't care…_

A horrible voice in his head told him that he _did_ care – and cared a lot. He cared to the point of reviving the dormant violent hatred and fear in him.

Later, he would attribute his impulsive denial to his newfound insecurity.

"What the hell are you talking about? I never kissed Takao. There's got to be some mistake!"

_Aren't you a better liar than you thought, Hiwatari?_ He tried to push back the voice in his head, but failed.

"Huh? But there were pictures…" Hiromi's anger abated a little.

"Fabricated, obviously. We aren't in Stone Age that anybody would take pictures at their face-value."

"Why would they do that?" Hiromi wasn't fully convinced.

"Hiwatari Corp. and Suzubishi Group are developing a Beyblading International Alliance. It is only natural that they would want to sabotage the reputation of Kai Hiwatari."

_Sabotage the reputation of Kai Hiwatari, huh? Kissing Takao would mean sabotaging your reputation… yeah; you've always known that, haven't you? Was that why you never kissed him outright? You aren't just a liar – you are a bloody coward. What a fucking great combination!_

_Shut up! Shut up!_

"WHAT? Like BBA?"

"We plan to make it much bigger than BBA in the long run."

He didn't even look at Hiromi but kept his eyes firmly fixed on the road. Oh, she was glancing at him frequently enough. Would she realize that he was lying? His mouth had gone so dry that it was a wonder, even to him, that he could speak so… naturally.

"What's Hiwatari Corp.?"

"Bio-Volt's been re-Christianized. You're the first one outside the management to know that," he added.

She didn't ask any more questions. Kai knew that he'd convinced her. He had never felt worse in his life. He knew he wasn't a very nice guy but had never imagined that he would have to fall this low.

* * *

Ever since he had gotten back to his apartment, Kai had been able to do little besides sit at the kitchen table and stare at the wall opposite. His mind was… blank. How did he normally occupy his mind? What did he always kept thinking about? It was ridiculous the way he couldn't recall anything now. He remembered that he thought of Takao more than about anything else. He thought about his project in Russia. But beyond that, he drew a blank. Was that all? Was there nothing more he would think about in those twenty-four hours?

He couldn't find any safe topic to divert himself with. No matter what he thought, it led back to one thing – he was back to a point he had been standing at almost ten years ago. Had it really been that long since he had first met Takao? Wow! Talk about time flying in happiness.

His lips curved in a derisive smile. And how long were the next ten years going to be? He didn't even _want_ to guess.

He was grateful when the ringing of the doorbell broke through his melancholy. He hurried to open the door, but once he reached it, a sudden thought popped up in his mind and he arrested his hand from opening turning the knob.

_What if there are reporters?_

It made him sick. He had never had Takao or Daichi's enthusiasm when it came to publicity. His reluctance was only augmented by the fact that they would ask him questions about Takao. He could already hear them in his head… _What relationship do you share with him? Would you…?_

"HEY, KAI! ARE YOU DEAD? I KNOW YOU ARE IN THERE!"

Daichi. He had never imagined that his mind would be set at peace by knowing it was that boy who had come to his apartment.

"What the hell? I've been standing here so long!"

"Don't lie, brat," said Kai as he closed the door behind him.

"Where's Yuriy?"

"Huh? He's not here." Kai frowned. "He wasn't here when I got back."

"Where's he?" demanded the little monkey, glaring at him.

"How should I know? Last time I checked, he was an adult, perfectly capable of taking care of himself. As such, I shouldn't bother keeping tabs on his every move, should I?"

"Fuck you! You know where he is. You just don't want to let me meet him."

"I don't and if that was all, get out of the house," said Kai, now thoroughly irritated. He didn't need to take shit from Daichi on top of everything. Why the hell would he care whether Daichi met Yuriy or not?

"No. I am going to stay here until Yuriy returns. I want to talk to him and I won't leave until I do that. You cannot stop me," said the boy stubbornly.

Kai felt irrationally infuriated. "GET OUT. NOW."

"Shan't! And a loser like you can't do anything about it!" yelled Daichi.

Kai's hands balled into fists and before he even realized what he was doing, he had punched the boy hard in his face. He put all the day's worth of fear and frustration in the punch and Daichi, unprepared for the assault, stumbled back and fell down, his head hitting against the wall.

The cloud of fury which had blurred out all thoughts in that instant cleared in a nanosecond as Daichi let out a painful scream and clutched his bleeding jaw and nose.

_Oh my God!_

He stood helpless as Daichi angrily brushed away the reflexive tears and glared up at him. He didn't hit him back though. He was probably in too much pain to even try to move his head… even his eyes seemed sort of unfocused.

"Gomen…" he whispered, not quite knowing what he could do.

Daichi only tried to glare harder – if such a feat could be accomplished with rather hazy eyes. He'd probably have displayed his finesse in foul language but refrained as moving his jaw sent unpleasant tingles of pain through the side of his face and neck.

* * *

"Hey. Where've you been? Don't tell me that reporters caught you. You were supposed to rescue Kai."

Hiromi flung down her bag on a chair but did not sit down. "I don't know what he has been doing since the morning but he had no idea about what's going on."

Kyouju's fingers stopped their frantic work over the keyboard.

"What did he say when you told him?"

Hiromi repeated Kai's words as exactly as she could recall them. It was more for her satisfaction than imparting the news to Kyouju. She needed to convince herself that it wasn't Kai that Takao loved. 'Whoever it is,' she thought, 'it isn't Kai. Kai said so himself.'

Kyouju got up and went to the kitchen to get something to drink for the two of them. He returned to find that Hiromi has switched on the television and tuned it to the culprit channel.

"They're apologizing for the news already. Thanks."

Kyouju sat down next to her. "After an inquiry." He read the caption flashing at the bottom of the screen. "Someone already set up an inquiry into the whole matter?"

"And bullied the channel into apologizing. I wonder if someone powerful has taken a special interest in this whole matter," said Hiromi as she turned off the television.

Kyouju didn't make a reply. He had a little idea of his own about who could have wrapped up the whole matter so easily and neatly but he thought it futile to share it with Hiromi. He could very possibly be wrong, in which case he did not want to tarnish any reputations.

"Kyouju?"

"Oh, I was just wondering why I didn't notice it before. After all, the pictures were way too hazy and only their hair was fuzzily visible. I feel like such a fool for falling for such crap."

Hiromi laughed. "Quite a bit of gossip, though. Even though everything is hushed up, Takao and Kai aren't going to have an easy time of it at school."

"We'll be there for them, well, at least for Takao. I doubt anyone would try to say anything to Kai about the whole thing."

"He graduates soon, anyway." Hiromi remembered what he had said about the Alliance. "I can't believe that Kai's been involved in something that important all along. He didn't even give a hint about it."

"There have been rumours of Suzubishi being involved in the formation of some Beyblade association," said Kyouju. "But I didn't really count on them being true. Anyway, let's finish with the History Project – there are still a lot of topics I've got to read through."

Hiromi rolled her eyes but followed him to the study.

* * *

"Everything's set right now. The channel has apologized and all. But you can still sue them if you want."

Takao looked up at the newcomer. The sun had disappeared quite some time ago. The room was unlit and had almost an ethereal and eerie atmosphere in the twilight. Takao sat up. "Arigatoo."

"No problem, little bro. although…" Hiro looked thoughtfully at Takao. "Well, you can't blame me for wondering if there's some fire which caused the smoke."

Takao smiled wearily. "That's such an awfully overused simile. But, no, there isn't. As far as I know, Kai's never kissed me."

"And you aren't very happy about that?" shot Hiro immediately.

Takao blushed and looked away. He didn't want to discuss this with _Hiro_ of all people. Although he was his older brother, but Takao felt excessively embarrassed admitting to him that he loved another guy.

Hiro went to stand by the window, looking out at the city. "I am not judging you, Takao. Whatever happens, I'll still be your 'onii-chan' and no matter what, you can always turn to me for help."

"Hai. Arigatoo."

Takao looked down at his plaster-clad forearm. Daichi had drawn grotesque faces on it before leaving. Takao smiled. _Baka Daichi_.

"_Kai and Takao kissed? So what? Those reporters won't interview _me – _the best Beyblader in this world but go on about some thing like this? Geez! How stupid!"_ He remembered Kyouju's startled look as Daichi questioned his explanation on why the reporters were gathered outside. Kyouju had been explaining things in a very low voice – he probably knew that Takao was only pretending to be asleep. Although the little redhead got on his nerves and usually Takao would be glad to be rid of his whines, at that moment, Takao was glad of Daichi's presence. The boy had an unusual way of making out everything to be simple – _yeah, Kai kissed me, so what? Why is it anyone's business but mine and Kai's?_

But Kai hadn't kissed him, had he?

Takao unconsciously touched his lips. He hadn't kissed anyone yet. Hell, he had had no time for a girlfriend and with Kai… he didn't even feel as if he wanted a girlfriend.

_That means Kai's like my girlfriend._

He sniggered at the thought.

Hiro turned towards him. "Nani?"

"Huh? Oh, nothing…"

_What would Kai say if I tell him that I think he's like my girlfriend? What did Kai think when he heard that he had supposedly kissed me? Hiro… has Hiro seen Kai? Should I ask him? _Takao shook his head. _No! No! No! I'll bury myself alive before asking Hiro something like this. Kami-sama! Why can't this be less embarrassing? _

"Do you want to go home now? You will be more at ease there to think over whatever's on your mind."

"Yeah, I guess. I feel kind of sick of this place anyway."

Hiro's face had been strangely impassive all the while he had been in the room. His mind though was not as blank as his face. For the greater part of the time, he had been wondering how to approach this whole issue of Kai with Takao. He had realized that Kai was more than Takao's friend once he had taken over as his coach. The very mention of Kai then would bring about a subtle change in Takao's demeanour. Kai was a very special person for Takao and Hiro knew that he won't be very eager to let go of him.

"Before we leave, Takao, I want to talk to you about something. Actually, it's someone – Kai."

Takao felt uncomfortable. Hadn't Hiro said he wasn't going to judge him on that?

Hiro sat down on the chair near Takao's bed. "I would ask you to be wary of him – very wary of him."

Takao blanched. _He knows… he knows about…_

"Why… why'd you say that?"

"During the Championship last year, Kai was with the Blitzkrieg Boys not just to independently improve his skills but also because the management committee of Bio-Volt had approached him. He had become the legal CEO of Bio-Volt once he turned eighteen. Technically, he should have taken enrolled into a college and taken the basic Bachelor's degree, which is the minimum requirement for holding any sort of position in Bio-Volt.

"But he'd been busy Beyblading and won't quit till he had won the Championship. So Bio-Volt should have theoretically been without a chairman but since his grandfather had long ago made a stipulation that Kai Hiwatari would take over Bio-Volt regardless of his attainments, and had not amended it, Kai took over as the chairman."

"Wait a sec!" interrupted Takao. "Kai hates Bio-Volt – why'd he want to go back to it? Plus, I thought they'd shut down the Bio-Volt or something."

Hiro frowned. "I would say that Kai is the sort of person who would keep his personal opinions away when it came down to business. And that's exactly what he did here. At any rate, he is still the chairman. Bio-Volt has been renamed Hiwatari Corp. Everything has been kept pretty low-key – no publicity, strictly business sort of thing, you know.

"As for Bio-Volt being shut down… well, there was some legal action taken but I should say that it evaded all in the end. Bio-Volt is a very powerful enterprise – it isn't easy to just 'shut it down'. It has very influential connections in the Russian government, too."

"So you're telling me that Kai is the CEO of Bio-Volt?" asked Takao weakly.

"Hiwatari Corp." corrected Hiro. "Yeah, but he doesn't actually do much work there right now. He's going to Russia after he graduates, isn't he?"

Takao could only nod.

"He would need to have his basic college degree from some college in Russia itself, so I guess he'd be leaving then."

"I thought… it was for some training centre…"

Hiro gave him a sharp look. "Training centre? That's… you've heard about it?"

"What?"

"The project that is being developed under the guise of 'training centre'," said Hiro with a sardonic smile.

"Project?"

"Hiwatari Corp. and Suzubishi Group International Beyblading Alliance – the venture set out to overtake BBA in the next five years at most."

"WHAT?"

"That's where I come in. If this project is realized to its full potential, it will be a great setback for BBA, which will then have to either close down or merge with them."

"Kai won't do that!" said Takao defensively.

"The training centre is a sort of nom de plume for the project. The term is mostly being used to keep the actual details a secret from most of the minor employees. What I've told you would be the 'classified information' for the venture. But you need to know. They are keeping most details very hush-hush but its implications are rather obvious."

Takao leaned back against the pillows, his head reeling with all the new information.

"Moreover, Hiwatari Corp. _is_ opening a mega training centre – mostly on Kai's insistence, from what I've gathered. As long as he is in college, he would be involved only with it, I suppose. But there's more to what I have to tell you about Kai. And this," Hiro's voice grew firmer, "concerns more than some companies. In fact, we've already gone over this."

_Here it comes…_

"Do you still have Dragoon, Takao?"

Takao clutched the sheets and bit down his lip. _You know I failed. Then why are you bothering me?_

"I told you to be careful around Kai, didn't I? Especially if you guys were Blading…"

"SHUT UP! STOP BLAIMING EVERYTHING ON KAI! IT WASN'T KAI! KAI WON'T HURT ME LIKE THAT!"

Hiro got up. "I can only warn you, Takao. I am not sure what the guy is up to but he is definitely involved in the robbery of the Sacred Beast Scriptures. YOU know Dragoon's power – and the havoc it can wreck if leashed out with no constraints. Multiply that by five and the concept of "world domination" won't be a laughable dream anymore.

"I told you Kai would start with the easiest – you. You trust him way too much. He's already captured the power of two of the five of the bit-beasts. Kai might be well-guarded by all those who are secretly supporting him. However, the Intelligence won't let him succeed. I know I can't promise you Dragoon back at this time – I don't know what's become of him. But I will repeat – don't get close to Kai. You'll only get hurt."

"IT WASN'T KAI!" yelled Takao. "YOU AND YOUR TEAM HAVE TOTALLY FUCKED UP WHATEVER YOU'RE DOING! IT WASN'T KAI!"

"No? Then who attacked you? Surely, you've fought Dranzer way too many times to not know her when she attacks you."

* * *

Yuriy hurried up the stairs, not bothering to wait for the elevator. He had fallen behind the schedule and if he didn't rush up, he was surely going to miss his plane.

"Damn!" he cursed under his breath as he searched and searched his pockets for the key to the apartment. He wasn't sure where Kai was or when he was going to return. Hence, he'd taken one of the spares with him. But with his luck, he'd now seemed to have misplaced it.

A few more curses later, he found it inside his bag.

He dashed inside and had almost entered his room when he registered that Daichi had been sitting on the floor near the bookshelves.

_Oh shit! I totally forgot about him!_

The boy sat with his legs drawn up to his chest and his head resting on his knees. Since he made no motion as Yuriy approached him, he suspected he'd fallen asleep.

Yuriy dumped his bag on the floor and sat down in front of Daichi.

"Hey, kid, wake up!"

"I am not asleep. Just dying."

"So when's the funeral?"

"YOU are NOT invited."

"Gomen nasai… I was totally caught up…"

Daichi hid the still visible part of his face. " 's 'kay,' he mumbled.

"Daichi."

The boy murmured something incoherently. Yuriy reached out to pull his arms away from his face, but was pushed away.

"My plane arrives in an hour and half. I've still got to pack up, get a cab, reach the airport and not miss the plane."

"Hnnn."

"And I don't want to leave you snivelling and grumpy."

More indistinct mumbling.

"At least look at me when I'm talking, kid. I am sure my face isn't very bad to look at. In fact, I think I look darn good, né?"

"Mine isn't very good."

"Won't argue with you on that one – but I would rather see it than not."

Daichi shook his head and tried to draw further away from him. "You'll miss the plane – bye."

Yuriy frowned. "Come on, kid! I know I promised last time to hang out with you when I'd be here. But you know what sort of a day it has been. You know I'd have kept my word if Kai and Takao hadn't messed up."

"Fuck Kai!" said Daichi vehemently, finally looking up.

"Holy shit, kid! Who the hell did that to you?" Yuriy tentatively touched the bruised cheek and jaw but hastily pulled back as Daichi winced.

"If Kai was angry at the reporters, he shouldn't have hit me," said Daichi, putting down his head again.

"Kai did that? Impossible!"

"Okay, I'm lying. I hit myself because I'm nuts."

"That's not what I meant… I suppose he was angry… but why are you just sitting this way. Come on, there's a first-aid box somewhere…"

Daichi looked up with a malicious grin. "Kai brought that – but I hit him right on the head with it. Like I'd want that fu…"

"_Daichi!"_

"What? He shouldn't have hit _me_!"

Yuriy glanced at his watch. "Shit. I've really got to rush now. The box is still lying there. Or better still, come down with me. There is a hospital on the way to the airport. I will drop you off there. Get those cuts checked. Have you hurt your head, too?"

"I'll be okay. You go on."

Yuriy looked at him in disbelief.

"You'll miss the plane. Just go. I'll be fine, really. It doesn't hurt so bad anymore."

"Oh yeah? That's why you've been sitting here since God-knows-when."

"I just wanted to see you before you left," shrugged Daichi. "It did hurt when I tried to move but now it doesn't hurt so badly."

Yuriy got up. "Well then… I'll leave."

"Get me something the next time you come – you said there were a lot of cool new Beyblade stuff your company or whatever was developing and you'd get me to try some."

"Well…" Yuriy wondered if he ought to do this. After all, he'd never parted from it before. But he admitted he was worried about Daichi. Takao had lost Dragoon. From the rumours that had reached him, this kid…

"You got me something?" The green eyes shone brightly. Pure green was a creepy eye-colour in Yuriy's opinion, more so than Kai's crimson. However, it was also so… alluring. He absently wondered how those eyes would be ten years' hence.

"Honestly, I hadn't. But there's something I want to give you, anyway."

Daichi followed the slim white hand as it pulled out Wolborg from a pocket and put it in his own.

"WHAT? What do you want me to do with this? Are you like… _giving_ it to me?"

"Yes," said Yuriy. "I want you to get used to manipulating it – it's one of the most technologically advanced Beyblades and I want you to do your best in controlling it."

"B-But… Wolborg's yours…" Daichi held Yuriy's Beyblade cautiously, as if it would break with the least motion.

"Wolborg will always be mine. Right now, you need him more than I do. No one has really realized its potentials as closely as you have while fighting me so I am not scared to leave him with you. Take care of it."

"_Of course!"_

"And if you ever feel like you need to use it in a fight, do that without a second thought. Wolborg's duty right now would be to protect Daichi Sumeragi for me, okay? So he should listen to you. So long, then, kid! Take care."

Daichi nodded, his eyes fixed on Wolborg.

_That's the most I can do right now. Wolborg, I'm leaving him to you. Take care of the kid – he's way too reckless. _

* * *

**Author's Notes:-**

1. Thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed the story.

2. Sorry for the long wait. I've re-written this chapter so many times that I almost know it by heart now.

3. Just in case the fact struck you and you're wondering about it – I do remember that I mentioned in the first chapter that Kyouju and Hiromi are dating and this has caused Takao to distance himself from them. And yes, I did write this chapter in full awareness of the fact. I'm saying no more here or I will end up giving some big spoilers.

4. About Suzubishi Group... I just borrowed it from **Gakuen Heaven** because I wasn't able to think up any impressive names here. Gakuen Heaven is a really cool BL (Boys Love or Shounen-ai) game and anime – check it out, if haven't already.

5. I don't know if Takao addresses Hiro as _aniki_ or _onii-chan_ in the manga as I haven't read it. But I'll go with the supposition that he called him _onii-chan_ when he was a small kid and Hiro remembers that.

6. I hope the "business" part of the chapter didn't seem too ridiculous or boring. I just feel that practical things are a necessity to give the story a realistic touch. Then again, I am a nerdish Science student with no real knowledge of how business matters work so I might have made it weird.

7. The lack of Kai-Takao interaction will be totally amended in the next chapter. Right now, the guys needed some time apart and the writer needed to develop the details of the plot and create some cliffies – or many cliffies, depending on how many you feel are cliffies.

* * *


End file.
